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Thursday, December 8, 2016

Acid Reflux, also known as Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), is a long term condition in which stomach acid escapes through the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES). The contents in your stomach come back up into your esophagus that causes either symptoms or complications. The Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) is a valve that separates the stomach from the esophagus. Acid reflux symptoms includes:

pain and burning in the chest

increased salivation (also known as water brash)

heartburn and nausea

burping and hiccups

hoarseness

chronic sore throat

coughing

Another nasty symptom of acid reflux is regurgitation, it's a foul acidic taste in your mouth when you not "fully-vomit" in your mouth after a meal. Yes, it's a common experience however, if it occurs most of the time about more than two times a week then you have acid reflux disease. Common risk factors of this disease are obesity, pregnancy, smoking, hiatus hernia, eating large meals, taking certain medicines and lying down after meals.

Another cause for acid refulx is lack of digestive enzymes in which the stomach produces more acid to compensate. This may be caused by old age, poor diet, stress and certain antibiotics that reduces the digestive enzymes required to balance the stomach acid responsible for reflux.

Medications use to get rid of acid reflux includes antihistamines, calcium channel blockers, antidepressants, and sleeping medication.

In addition, a spoonful of sodium bicarbonate, can help reduce or end the gnawing, burning, sensation of heartburn caused by acid reflux. Baking soda, as sodium bicarbonate is more commonly known, can help your reflux and in turn help your heartburn because it is a base substance.

Other ways to relieve acid reflux includes, chewing gum since it increase the flow of saliva that neutralizes stomach acid. Lose weight and eating smaller meals will also help. Avoid smoking since it loosens the LES valve. Avoid foods that are known for causing gas and acid reflux, which includes beans, soda, fatty foods, citrus fruits, tomatoes, coffee and tea.

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Low Carb Diet is a diet that usually involves limiting the consumption of carbohydrates like those found in sugary foods, pasta and bread. This diet is high in protein, fat and healthy vegetables that includes meat, poultry, fish and eggs. It also limit most grains, legumes, fruits, breads, sweets, pastas and starchy vegetables, and sometimes nuts and seeds.

There are different kinds of low-carb diets and each of them has varying restrictions on the types and amounts of carbohydrates you can eat.

According to an article by Business Insider high-fat, low-carb diet may improve athletic performance. It said that our bodies normally first try to burn through our glycogen energy stores, which are easily accessible and we get from breaking down carbohydrates. After we burn through those glycogen energy stores, our bodies eventually can start getting energy by burning through ketones, energy produced from fatty acids (basically, energy from fat). However, it also said that this diet is not for everyone it may work for some but not for others.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Back pain is very common and it affects most people at some point in their life. It is also the most common illness that cause people to miss work and make people visit their doctors. I also experience back pain from time to time and it can be really sore that I can't even get out of bed. Thankfully there are things that you can do treat it that often will heal your back within a few weeks and keep it functional for a long time.

One of the best thing that you can do is stretching. You can do it at home for a few minutes a day. Check out Jen Hilman video below, she shows how to do stretching for back pain. It is very relaxing.

Friday, November 11, 2016

Mediterranean Diet is a type of diet where in it emphasizes in high consumption of plant-based foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and legumes combined with olive oil and low consumption of protein. It replaces butter with healthy fats such as olive oil and canola oil. Using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods.

According to experts the Mediterranean Diet is not only good for your health and weight it is also good for your brain since it is a great stress management. Stress has a negative impact on your overall health and well-being. It doesn’t only contribute to weight gain and poor sleep, but it also affects your memory as well, according to a research published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Fruits and vegetables contains significant amount of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other vital nutrients your body needs to function properly, that includes the function of the brain. According to a study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, eating fruits and vegetables improves verbal memory and it also protects from cognitive decline in both men and women.

Mediterranean Diet also promotes eating fish which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids which improved immune system, improve memory and brain development. There are also numerous study that show that increasing consumption of food rich in omega-3 fatty acids could greatly improve their working memory.

Friday, September 30, 2016

Summer is over and we're heading for a cold season, it's time to get this year’s flu shot to keep you and your family protected this flu season.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Tom Frieden, reminded the people to take their flu shot last Thursday at the annual National Foundation for Infectious Diseases press conference on flu vaccines.

“If we could increase vaccination coverage in this country by just five percent more, that would prevent about 800,000 illnesses and nearly 10,000 hospitalizations. Flu vaccine is one of the best buys in public health.”

The 2016 flu vaccine has two basic types: 1. flu vaccine that gives you protection from three strains of flu 2. vaccine that gives you protection against four strains of flu

Both flu vaccines will protect you against H1N1 (swine flu), H3N3 and a Type B strain. The only difference between the two is that the “quadrivalent” vaccine also protects against a second Type B strain.

CDC didn't say which one you should get, but obviously the more coverage the better it is. Frieden said what is important is get your shots immidiately since “The problem is that a vaccination deferred is often a vaccination forgotten.”

CDC also recommended this year to get your Flu shots through vaccine not nasal spray form after concerns arose last year about the effectiveness of the spray.

Don’t wait until the last minute to get your shot since it takes time to build the antibodies to fight the flu. In adults, the shot takes effect after about 2 weeks. For kids under 8 who may need 2 shots to be fully vaccinated, injections have to be spaced more than 4 weeks apart, so the earlier they get the 1st shot, the better.

Flu shots save lives, flu can give you fever, chills and muscle aches and it can lead to complications like pneumonia, blood infections, diarrhea and seizures. Flu can even lead to death, especially for the very young or the very old.

Flu shots are also extremely important for pregnant women, since they have increased risk of hospitalization and death from flu.

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Honestly I love eating food with soy like tofu, I also love drinking soy milk so I was shocked to find out that eating too much maybe bad for you.

Soybeans are legumes native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses. They are now being produced on a large scale in the United States due to its popularity.

Soybeans can be used to make many different foods, they are cheap source of protein for animal feeds and many packaged meals. Soybeans can be eaten whole, with the immature types being called edamame. Soybeans needs to be cooked, since they are poisonous when raw. The beans contain significant amounts of phytic acid, dietary minerals and B vitamins. Soy vegetable oil, used in food and industrial applications, is another product of processing the soybean crop.

About 90% of soy that are produced in the U.S. is genetically modified and the crops are sprayed with the herbicide Roundup, which may be associated with adverse effects on health.

Soybeans contains many important nutrients, in fact in 100 grams, of mature, boiled, whole soybeans has large amounts of Manganese, Selenium, Copper, Potassium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Iron, Calcium, Vitamin B6, Folate, Riboflavin (B2), Thiamin (B1) and Vitamin K. It has 173 calories, 9 grams of fat, 10 grams of carbs and 17 grams of protein. However, it also contains high amount of phytates which binds minerals and reduce nutrients absorption. Phytic acid has been said to fight cancer, however there is no evidence it has any beneficial role to play in cancer medicine. Soybeans contains high amounts of omega-6 fatty acids which is not good as they may increase the probability of a number of diseases. Excess omega-6 fatty acids may interfere with the health benefits of omega-3 fats it may cause arthritis, inflammation, and cancer.

Health Benefits of Soy:

- Lowers cholesterol, it is said to reduce the Total and LDL cholesterol level. - Reduce the risk of prostate cancer in old people- Lower breast cancer risk- It contain a high level of phytic acid which is an antioxidant (reduce cancer, minimize diabetes, and reduce inflammation)

Healthy Risks of Soy:

- Allergy to soy is common- Soy contains large amounts of isoflavones, source of phytoestrogens in the human diet. This can interfere with the normal function of hormones in the body.- can cause reduce sperm count in men - isoflavones in soy also function as goitrogens, which are substances that interfere with thyroid function.- isoflavones in soy can be harmful to infants, soy-based infant formula can have harmful effects.

Like any other food Soy has its health benefits and risks so eating moderately is the best option. It is also important for pregnant or breastfeeding women to avoid soy and other sources of endocrine disrupting compounds. For infants formula, it should only be used as a last resort.